Pneumolysin contributes to dysfunction of nasal epithelial barrier for promotion of pneumococcal dissemination into brain tissue.

ABSTRACT: Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the major pathogens responsible for bacterial meningitis and neurological sequelae. The present study was conducted to identify a non-hematogenous route used by S. pneumoniae to gain access to brain tissue without causing bacteremia or pneumonia, as well as bacterial and host factors involved in this process. To investigate the molecular mechanisms and dissemination pathways of pneumococcal infection in brain tissue, mice were intranasally inoculated with S. pneumoniae strain EF3030, a clinical isolate from a patient with otitis media. Pneumococci were isolated from the frontal olfactory bulb, caudal cerebrum, and cerebellum, with neither bacteremia nor pneumonia observed in the present model. Immunostaining imaging revealed the prese

SUBMITTER: Takahara Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11520308 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature